Boris Valeggio, or as he is also called Vallejo, is an artist of our time, whose creative path followed a winding path that eventually led him to worldwide recognition.
Creativity
Valeggio was born in Peru, but he actively showed his artistic talents in the United States, which is why many sources call him a Peruvian-American representative of art.
It would be superfluous to talk about how the future representative of the "fantasy" style loved to draw since childhood, as this is indicated by his preferences in choosing educational institution. Boris successfully completed his studies at the National School of Arts in his homeland - in Lima. His success was so remarkable that he received a grant to study painting in Florence. The rebellious spirit, which over time the author will “pour out” into his fantasy paintings, Boris Valeggio thoroughly showed when he refused the benefits provided to him, and went to the USA with a few tens of dollars.
The young man had a hard time at first. He was forced to wander the cities in search of best conditions for existence. Valeggio spent the first two years of his stay in the land of enormous opportunities as an employee, and then he was able to afford to become freelance artist. It must be said that this status was rather a fiction, since for the next eight years he tried in every possible way to realize his potential, creating illustrations in the fantasy style for major publishing houses in the country.
own style
Meticulously working on the implementation of fantastic characters, Vallejo formed his own style of writing. His main activity was to create illustrations for films. Over time, the artist was able to embody his ideas in the form of creating graphic advertising. Paintings in the style of Valeggio are certainly sketches with the participation of fantastic characters that are distinguished by the realism of the image.
In the artistic style, Boris is classified as a fantasy writer. Looking at his work, you involuntarily plunge into the world of good dreams or rampant nightmares depicted by him.
Main characters
The paintings created by Valeggio display mostly heroic images of people with superhuman abilities. Among the frequently encountered images of the artist, one can notice the images of mythical gods, Tarzan, Conan the Barbarian, mystical creatures. The bodies of the heroes are depicted grotesquely, as if they all spend day and night in gyms and take steroids. However, this only applies to male characters. Women, on the contrary, have voluminous forms and look very erotic. However, this is one of hallmarks fantasy style.
The basis of the images of heroes never lie sketches from nature. This is the fundamental rule of drawing a picture of Valeggio. Photos of sitters - this is the starting point for starting work on the canvas. It's not at all that Boris lacks experience or patience. He drew a lot from life before he came to the optimal formula for his work. Valeggio takes the photo and proceeds to paint it on canvas. As each stroke appears, the master has images that allow him to transform real hero in one who can take on the task of saving the world or a beautiful woman.
Animals in the artist's works
Creates Valeggio paintings with amazing realism. Its secret lies in the long journey of studying human and animal anatomy.
In a close examination of his work, it is impossible not to notice that central characters most often are which look like hybrids of animal and plant worlds. They certainly look at and human features, however, in general, the creatures look like an entity unknown to the world.
All essence creative way Valeggio is to transfer to the canvas fictional world with non-existent heroes and give them life, giving them biomechanics and mysticism. In many of his works, one can trace the artist's unique ability to combine individual physiological aspects of different animals so that, ultimately, a new one is born. species.
about the eternal struggle between good and evil
The artist's works met on their way a lot of reviews, among which were admiration and outright criticism. The fact is that many canvases are permeated with frank eroticism, which is intertwined with symbolic battles of good and evil. In his paintings, one can see how the most evil and powerful evil spirits were able to cope with their inner evil thanks to the embrace of charming beauties, captivating them with the perfection of forms. In the artist's work, ladies play a special role, which provoke men to perform feats.
At the same time, they often act in the form of diplomats who, with their beauty, were able to stop evil monsters. Perhaps it is not by chance that it is seen in the works of Valeggio. The paintings were largely created with the physical and moral support of the painter's wife, Julia Bell, who repeatedly posed for individual scenes. Their family tandem is tightly bound by artistic ties. Julia is also an artist, painting in a similar style to her husband.
Grace, elegance, strength, charm, magic, struggle, passion - this is not a series of adjectives, but just a characteristic of Boris Valeggio's paintings. It is worth for a moment to catch your eye on the image, as if a ball of boiling lava rises inside, rushing out. Boris Valeggio is the genius of modern Fantasy Art.
Way to the top
Artist Boris Valeggio was born in 1941 in Peru. His father was a famous lawyer, and Boris himself wanted to become a musician and gave 7 for long years playing the violin. However, something went wrong, for two years he studied at the medical department. In the meantime, he was fond of drawing.
One day, his comrades saw his drawings and advised him to enter the National School of Art. He becomes the best graduate and receives a job offer in Florence. But going to Europe meant changing your dream of living in the States. Therefore, having 80 dollars with him, in 1964 he migrated to the United States.
Without knowledge of the language, housing and money, a native of Peru is forced to be a laborer in one of American companies, spraying his talent on comics and Greeting Cards. Over time, Boris finds his own style in the visual arts, develops a personal system of images. For six months he wanders from city to city - Hartfort, Connecticut, New York. After 2 years he becomes a freelance artist, and for 8 years he takes on any order that comes up, feeling on his own skin all the cruel realities of the publishing world.
Only in 1975 did the first long-awaited success come to him. Publishing house "Marvel Comics" pays attention to his works. First, he is offered a job with postcards, then with comics, and finally with book covers.
1976 - Ballantine Books commissions Boris Valeggio for covers for Tarzan books. He knew how to please the audience, abandoning the grace of the European "man", Valeggio presented the world with unprecedented power, a mountain of muscles, a bold and sexy man. It is at this moment that the talent of Boris Valeggio emerges from the shadows.
Men and women
The artist Boris Valeggio, whose paintings are known throughout the world, has changed the idea of the ideal of a man and a woman in the fantasy world. The male character personifies a noble barbarian. Savages, athletic, sexy and masculine, are present in almost every picture.
Creating fantasy paintings, Boris Valeggio did not lose sight of the fair sex. If in the 60-70s heroines with wide hips were popular, now they have been replaced by athletic, majestic and graceful warrior witches. Athletic physique, magical lightness and a fantasy-played plot seem to say - this is Boris Valeggio. The artist's paintings are considered the best in the Fantasy Art genre.
Trapped in forbidden desires
Erotica. Exactly most of people who have seen his paintings are characterized by what Boris Valeggio creates. The paintings of this artist are like another, otherworldly world. Here, sexual violence, the desire for pleasure and human flesh are in the order of things, which opposes monsters and demons. Merging together, each element of the picture seems to oppose the world of tender and beautiful. As if the challenge is Boris Valeggio. The paintings that come out from under his brush show the truth, reveal hidden human desires that can only exist on the verge of the fictional and the real.
I don't like fantasy, but I like this artist. Not so much with his stylistic works, but with traditional plots that are less known. Therefore, I tried to pick up little-known facts from his life and his lesser-known works.
Boris Valeggio (Valeggio or Vallejo in some sources) is a real Indian. He was born on January 8, 1941 in Lima, Peru to a lawyer's family.
Boris has been mastering the art of playing the violin for seven childhood years. But soon the violin is replaced by medicine, the study of which he devotes two years of his life. It is worth noting that knowledge of anatomy later helped him in his work.
After Boris's friends noticed how well he draws, he devoted himself to painting and studied for 5 years at the National School of Art in Lima. At the age of 16, he receives a grant to study in Florence, the ultimate dream for many aspiring artists. But, to everyone's amazement, Boris refuses, and instead, in 1964, with 80 dollars in his pocket and a portfolio of his work, he emigrates to the United States.
"Vermeer, Rembrandt, Leonardo - all my childhood I studied the works of these masters again and again. But most of all I love the work of two Spanish artists"Murillo and Velasquez."
Thus, the new edition of John Herman's adventure series in the 1970s enjoyed great popularity thanks to the covers created by Valeggio's hand. Many owners of books from the old series bought second copies, illustrated by the artist. Illustrations for a series of books about Tarzan (where Boris abandoned the usual blue-eyed blond European in favor of a brutal and sexy savage) were printed as a separate edition and successfully sold out.
Soon Boris Valeggio gets acquainted with the fantasy style.
“I have always been distinguished by a special love for the perfection of the structure human body, and fantasy allowed me to depict muscular and sensual bodies in all variations in all my work. And since I love human bodies, I always try to draw them as beautiful and perfect as possible.”
One of the most typical characters Valeggio is a noble barbarian, boldly striding towards dangers and defeating the forces of evil and darkness. Critics believe that the artist captures himself in this character.
The second favorite character of Boris is the embodiment of femininity, but at the same time a brave heroine, in whom Doris is most often seen.
"When I meet on the street beautiful woman I like to look at her. Am I trying to imagine how I would feel if I touched her? Or if I make love to her? No, but some of these feelings are reflected in my painting. At this point, I'm just enjoying what I see."
In 1994, Boris enters into a second marriage with the artist - Julia Bell, who is 30 years younger than him. Julia is now the model for his Amazons. And he himself often poses for pictures of his wife.
“The fact is that I myself have been bodybuilding since the age of sixteen. In my opinion, there is nothing surprising in the fact that I am interested in portraying people with beautiful and strong bodies. Naked body is natural. And if there was no sex, then none of us would simply exist.
Valeggio rarely draws from life, so as not to force the models to stand for a long time in his chosen position. Usually, before starting work, Boris takes photos of models in the right angles. He then sketches the photographs and adds shadows and effects using brown acrylic, which creates a plastic effect and allows the illustration to dry faster and move on to new colors. However, Boris also works in the traditional technique, making oil sketches.
Boris paints the backgrounds quite roughly, capturing only a few significant details and motifs. His backgrounds are entirely a product of the imagination, while the characters are filled with realism.
Most of his works are compositionally built according to a single principle: the upper part is practically empty, since the title and author of the book are usually placed there. Therefore, the main "plot" is concentrated in the bottom two-thirds of the image.
"A bookstore always has a lot of books stacked close to each other, and often the decision of whether to buy a book or not is made by the cover. A successful cover attracts buyers like a magnet." Knowing this, Boris uses erotic motifs, playing on our instincts like a violin.
Boris Vallejo is an American illustrator who specializes in creating pretentious artistic subjects, in which the main place has always been given to naked female and male nature. Boris Vallejo has created a range of illustrations for fantasy books and famous series collections of romantic music "Romantic Collection".
Was born future artist January 8, 1941 in the capital of Peru, Lima. From the early childhood he had a real creative streak. Therefore, when at the age of 13 he became seriously interested in drawing, this became a completely expected continuation of his life path. After completing his studies at the National School of Arts, Boris Vallejo was awarded a grant to continue his studies in Florence. However, the young artist very quickly realized that in his homeland he was unlikely to be able to achieve the desired success. Therefore, in 1964, without knowing in English and with 80 dollars in his pocket, he left Peru and went to conquer America, where he worked in Hartford for six months, and then moved to New York.
America dictated its own rules of the game, and for several years the young artist had to try himself in the most various fields activities before he became a full-fledged and independent artist. He took on any work, one way or another connected with the creation of illustrations, and collaborated with almost all major publishers working with such literary genres like fantasy and science fiction. Over the years of work, Boris Vallejo has developed his own, author's and, of course, recognizable art style. He created illustrations for the covers music albums and video films, as well as graphic advertising for films, and is now rightfully considered a true classic visual arts in the fantasy genre. His most famous works are illustrations for the books "Conan the Barbarian" and "Tarzan", for the comics "X-Men" and "Spider-Man", as well as the design of the cover of the magazine "Heavy Metal". The main features of Vallejo's works are realism (in his understanding), aesthetic appeal and "purity" of the picture. With a detailed examination of the artist's canvases, the viewer will not be able to find a single extra stroke, not a single unnecessary detail. All the characters in Vallejo's illustrations are perfect and have some kind of amazing appeal, which makes it impossible to take your eyes off the drawing. The paintings of Boris Vallejo are devoid of dirt, cruelty, blood. And no matter how sinister the characters look and no matter how hostile the environment may seem, his works are, first of all, erotica...
The personal life of the artist was also most directly connected with his vocation. His first wife was the artist and writer Doris Vallejo, who bore Boris two children, Maya and Dorian. Unfortunately, the marriage fell apart and Boris Vallejo married a second time to the artist Julie Bell, whose artistic style was very similar to his. Much warmer and closer relations were connected with the artist’s second wife, because they were not just spouses, but a real creative tandem: Julie Bell was often his model, and he acted as a model for her paintings. Children from their first marriage also followed in their father's footsteps: Maya Vallejo is a professional photographer, and Dorian Vallejo worked for some time in the fantasy genre, but on this moment famous as a portrait painter. Boris Valejo's stepsons, Anthony Palumbo and David Palumbo, are also artists. They work for fine art galleries and often act as illustrators in the genre science fiction and fantasy.
The works of Boris Vallejo are unique in their own way and are literally imbued with fantastic and romantic motifs. The erotic aspect, which is also an integral part of all his illustrations, is demonstrated in all its splendor in the Mirage album. The poem accompanying this album was written ex-wife Boris Valejo Doris. The artist himself ends the preface to Mirage with the following words: “When I meet a beautiful woman on the street, I like to look at her. Am I trying to imagine how I would feel if I touched her? Or if I make love to her? No, but some of these feelings are reflected in my painting. And at this moment I just enjoy what I see "...
Boris Vallejo was born in Lima, Peru, where his father was a successful lawyer. The boy was going to make a career in music, studying the violin for seven long years. For two years he studied at the preparatory department of the Faculty of Medicine. Noticing Boris's talent as a draftsman, his comrades force him to enter the Department of Applied Graphics National School arts in Peru. Anatomy lessons were not in vain: the best graduate student was offered to study in Florence. Boris refused to go to Europe! The dream of New York brought the owner of 80 dollars to America. In 1964 he did not know English. At first, fellow countrymen helped to find inexpensive housing. In the advertising department of a large company, he did the dirty work, not shunning comics and Christmas cards. Gradually, Boris developed his own unique style. Playing with different styles, he developed a system of his own images. For six months he worked in Hartford, then in Connecticut, and only then at the company's New York headquarters. There he met future wife Doris. After two years he left the firm and became free graphic artist. For a long eight years, he took on any order, comprehending in practice the wrong side of the world of the press and the cruel laws of the publishing business. The first success came to the artist in 1975. His posters and postcards were noticed by Marvell Comics. At first, he combined work on Christmas cards with a series of drawings for comics. Boris then switches to book covers. In 1976, he received a series of commissions from Ballantine Books. The innovative artist painstakingly worked on illustrations for a series of books about Tarzan. The Latin American abandoned the graceful, fair-haired and blue-eyed Europeans. In return, the Peruvian offered brute strength, muscle, courage and ... sexuality! The work on "Tarzan" was so successful that the covers and illustrations were printed separate edition. They sold out instantly! From now on, beloved male character Valeggio becomes a noble barbarian. Courageous, athletic and sexy savages are present in almost every picture. And where without women? The wide-hipped heroines of the 1960s and 1970s were replaced by athletically graceful and attractive female warriors. Women Boris Valeggio- this is the embodiment of invocative beauty, magical grace and athletic physique. Be it a slave or a proud Amazon, an angel or a demon. Wife Doris and fashion model Daniella Enjo are the artist's models. And often served as a male model mirror reflection his own body. Boris Valeggio is the leader of Fantasy Art. In this deeply erotic genre, various demons and aggressive monsters oppose the world of beauty. Valeggio's special bestiary contains many fantastic creatures: lizards with female hands, wolves with male heads, people with animal skins, dragons with butterfly wings, flying centaurs, etc. Most of them are sexual abusers who want to enjoy human flesh. Sexual violence is the norm of behavior in the world of Boris Valeggio. And this is not surprising. In essence, Fantasy Art is a fixation of forbidden desires from our erotic dreams. In a dream, our bodies undergo any transformations. The female body is a special world of magic. The witch's magic is in the limitless possibilities of her chest and legs. The witches of Boris Valedzho are a topic for a separate discussion. It's the addictive eroticism female body makes some take up a brush and dream (like Gogol or Valedzho). And others - to leave the bottomless wells of darkness in order to fulfill a momentary female whim. Since the time of Gogol's "Viy" in art, no one else has managed to whip up an artistic cocktail of images of lovers and demons of black depths so thickly. Inner world witches are darker and more mysterious than her slanting eyes. In the witching midnight stellar distances open in the eyes of a witch. Is it not a stellar theme that explains Boris Valeggio's predilection for witches with burning eyes? Dark sides female soul- this is the deepest secret of Valeggio. How much did Boris communicate with witches, did the painter go to Bulgakov's covens, did he have fun on comets, did he indulge in sadness on the outskirts of the universe? This is known to him alone. The artist's bold brush will speak more eloquently than words about the forbidden pleasures of fabulous bestiality, the indescribable joys of cosmic sex and night flight over a tiny planet. Valeggio fundamentally changed the basic principles of commercial "fantastic" painting. He created a new female sex symbol by tying athletic body with witch eyes. A woman whose image can be fantasized ad infinitum. In general, the paintings of Boris Valedzho speak of the beauty of the human body. On the need to resist the urges of animal passion. Through the creation of new worlds, he expanded the inner space of his viewers. Taught us to be brave. For the Universe of Valeggio is a cult of extremely erotic interchanges. Relatively long and quickly becoming famous and popular artist, now Valeggio releases one album after another. Without a doubt, he is a prophet and sovereign master of the Fantasy Art genre. Author of the new sexual world proudly marches ahead of a host of charms and heroes, monsters and witches. For Boris Valedzho himself, the newly discovered paths are strewn with roses and gold of huge fees. But where will they take the viewer? Who each of us has to incarnate in erotic dreams coming night - a monster or a hero? Let everyone make their own choice.
